The Bristol PLUS Award

Challenge yourself to develop a range of skills and experiences to boost your CV and stand out from the crowd. The Bristol PLUS Award helps you maximise your time at university and get rewarded in the process.

100% of students who completed the Award in 2016/2017 and provided feedback said they would recommend the Award to others. You can read more about past Award students in our PLUS and Outstanding Award case studies. Employers support the Award because completing it demonstrates that you have gone the extra mile to gain skills that they value. Read more about our range of official endorsing employers (PDF, 957kB).

Are you a postgraduate research student? The PLUS Award is designed for you too! Have a look at our case studies to see how other research students have benefited from taking part.

To achieve the Bristol PLUS Award you must complete the following six requirements, starting with an introductory talk:

1. Attend introductory talk

Find out everything you need to know in order to get started.

You will be sent an email containing the Bristol PLUS Award 2017-18 registration form after you have attended an introductory talk. You must submit this form by 9 February 2018 in order to be registered on the Award. Once registered you must complete by 8 June 2018.

2. Carry out 50 hours of work experience or volunteering

The term 'work experience' applies to internships, part-time, summer and voluntary work.

You can count any paid or unpaid work in any country towards your Award.

The 50 hours can be split over various periods, at different places.

You can use work you carried out before registering for the Award providing you were a UoB student at the time. If you are a PGT (Masters) student, then you can also use any experience gained in the summer before starting your course.

Society roles and other university representative roles cannot be used as work experience, however they can be used as intensive skills activities.

You need to provide contact details of a referee to verify that you carried out the work. Referees will be contacted once you have submitted your online record.

3. Attend 4 workshops

You must attend 4 workshops, 1 of which must be related to interview skills.

Once you have registered for the Award you can search for Careers Service events that count towards the Award and book yourself onto them. In addition to workshops at the Careers Service, other employability workshops available throughout the University and externally can also be counted towards this section of the Bristol PLUS Award.

4. Take part in an intensive skills activity

An intensive skills activity will allow you to gain skills for the workplace. It shows employers that you have gone beyond the basics and made a real effort to develop your skills while at university.

During an intensive skills activity you will have:

gained employability-related skills.

participated in an interactive manner.

committed for a minimum of 6 hours.

reviewed the skills you have gained from the activity/event.

Unlike the workshops which involve learning about employability skills, an intensive skills activity is about putting these skills into practice. The intensive skills activity is all about 'doing'.

This list is intended to provide some options and inspiration for what you might get involved with while at university. It is not an exhaustive list, if you have an activity that is not listed it can still count providing it meets the above criteria.

5. Write a reflective report

We ask you to review the experiences you are giving as evidence for the Bristol PLUS Award. Reflection is a transferable skill required by employers and it is vital to be able to recognise the skills you have developed through your work experience, workshops and intensive skills activity. Completing this process will help you to be more prepared when applying for internships and graduate jobs as you will have practised writing out examples of the skills you have gained ready for other job applications.

6. Complete the Award with a final review session

The final element of the Award is an interactive group session. These workshops will take place throughout the year and you will be able to view and book your place online.

learn how best to present the Award on your CV to support your future ambitions.

highlight how the Careers Service and the wider University can continue to support your development.

set goals and plan your development beyond the Award.

The Outstanding Award rewards students who have achieved something substantial and significant outside of their studies at Bristol. Outstanding Award students should be applying what they have learned from the PLUS Award and relish the challenge of taking their employability skills to a higher level.

To apply for the Outstanding Award you must have already achieved the Bristol PLUS Award. In addition to this you will need to have carried out one extra-curricular activity for a minimum of 20 hours that meets the brief and required skills in your chosen Award category.

The first step is a compulsory introductory talk. You can attend an Outstanding Award introductory talk before finishing the Bristol PLUS Award but will not be able to progress further until completion. Introductory talks run from October 2017 until February 2018.

After attending the introductory talk, you will be able to apply for your chosen category. The deadline for applications is 16 February 2018.

If your application is successful, you will be invited to interview and required to complete some preparatory interview tasks online.

Interviews will take place week commencing 19 March 2018, where the final outcomes of pass or distinction will be decided.

Why should you do the Bristol PLUS Award?

1. Employers value the Award

“I learned about the importance of preparation; knowing the company and the role is crucial during an interview. I also learned about the importance of presenting a good first impression. I have gained a place on a graduate scheme thanks to the Bristol PLUS Award and the skills I have learned through the completion of the Award.”

3rd year Geography (BSc)

2. Gain skills to complement your degree

“The Bristol PLUS Award has been very worthwhile, in both preparing me for the employment world and also helping me develop soft skills that are not available from our academic curriculum. My volunteer work and internship helped me realise the next steps in my career path, complemented by workshops which taught me how these steps could be achieved.”

2nd year Mechanical Engineering (MEng)

3. Activities can aid with your career planning

“The workshop on interview skills caused the biggest change in how I’m thinking about my future career. It made me see the strengths and weaknesses not only in my CV and job applications but also in my personality and work ethic. This entirely changed my perspective on the different careers I might suit. Overall, the PLUS Award experience has been invaluable because of this.”

2nd year English (BA)

4. Rise to a challenge and become more confident

“I used to believe that it would be very unlikely for me to get my dream job because it is competitive and I did not know where to start to prepare for it. However, completing the Bristol PLUS Award has helped me to be more confident and clearly aware of what skills I have and how to improve them.”

2nd year Accounting and Finance (BSc)

5. Have fun while developing professionally

“I thoroughly enjoyed the PLUS Award. It is structured very well and has allowed me to develop personally, socially and academically and given me the confidence and potential to thrive in my future years at University.”

1st year Law and German (LLB)

‌Ideas to build your PLUS experience

There are a wide range of activities on offer at the University which will qualify as evidence for the Bristol PLUS Award. Here are some suggestions to help get you started.

My intensive skills activity is not on the list, can I still use it?

The list provided is not exhaustive and only covers the most common activities. If you believe your activity fulfils the criteria but you cannot find it on the drop-down list in the form on your PLUS Award account, select ‘Other’. You can then submit details of your activity for approval.

My work experience was abroad, is it still valid?

Yes, any work gained during vacation periods can be used towards your Bristol PLUS Award. If possible, please provide an email of the referee for contact. If your referee is not English speaking, you can provide a recent payslip as evidence.

My work experience was last year, can I still use it?

Yes, any work experience gained whilst being a current student of the University of Bristol can be used towards the Bristol PLUS Award. PGT students can also use work experience from the summer before starting their Masters. However, students cannot use Industry Placements that are part of your course. Work experience must be gained outside of your course.

Can I do both the PLUS Award and Outstanding Award in one year?

It is highly challenging to complete both Awards in one academic year. You would need to complete the PLUS Award and apply for the Outstanding Award by the February deadline. Therefore we recommend spreading them out over 2 years, so that you have sufficient experiences to use for both, bearing in mind that you must use different activities for each.

How is the Outstanding Award different from the PLUS Award?

The Outstanding Award has tailored categories and mirrors the recruitment and selection process in the real world. It is a unique opportunity to develop higher level employability skills and challenge yourself to articulate them as you would in a professional context.

What do I do if I still have questions?

The Bristol PLUS Award is an excellent way of enabling students to focus on and develop the key skills and competencies employers are looking for, creating a solid foundation for their future career success.